BBC moves cooking show as GBBO gets Channel 4 air date
David Farnor | On 17, Apr 2017
The Great British Bake Off will return this summer, as is tradition. This year, though, there’s a big change in the recipe: the new incarnation of the series will air on Channel 4, following a controversial deal to poach the programme last year.
The BBC waived the right to stop Channel 4 airing its new take on Bake Off this year, but tensions have still been palpable between the pair, as the Beeb seemed to take umbrage with Channel 4’s decision of when to air the show. The new series will premiere on Tuesday 29th August at 8pm – a move from the show’s traditional Wednesday slot.
That move means that Bake Off clashes directly with the BBC’s new cooking show, The Big Family Cooking Showdown, which began this week on Tuesday. The BBC said viewers “may see this as a cynical move”, although Channel 4 has rebutted with a statement insisting that they “made the decision about where to schedule The Great British Bake Off a few months after acquiring it and we haven’t moved it since then”.
“It is in the original Tuesday evening slot where the majority of past series have played,” added Channel 4, referring to the programme’s slot when it first premiered in 2010, before it moved to Wednesdays in 2014.
Now, the BBC has decided to move its own show to avoid going head-to-head. The Big Family Cooking Showdown is hosted and judged by former Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, alongside a presenting trio of Zoe Ball, cook Rosemary Shrager and chef Giorgio Locatelli.
“We never intended for our new cookery show to clash with theirs,” said the BBC. “There is room for both and we don’t, in this instance, see any public value in two public service broadcasters going head to head in this way.”
Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off, meanwhile, will be presented by The Mighty Boosh’s Noel Fielding and QI’s Sandi Toksvig, with Prue Leith replacing Mary Berry as one of the judges, alongside Paul Hollywood, the only original Bake Off member to stay on board. Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Dr Oetker are dual sponsors for the new series.
You can taste of what’s in store from the new Bake Off in this imaginative, if slightly disturbing, trailer:
First picture of new GBBO presenters released
14th April 2017
Channel 4 has released the first official picture of its new Great British Bake Off presenters.
From left to right, that’s Paul Hollywood, Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding and Prue Leith.
Read on below for more on the new hosts, who will be taking to the Bake Off tent later this year.
Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig to present The Great British Bake Off
17th March 2017
Channel 4 has revealed its new line-up for The Great British Bake Off – and stepping into the tent will be Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding.
Nabbing the show from the BBC, Channel 4 will have a tough job to convince fans to tune in, so its choice of hosts and judges is vital to the programme continuing the phenomenal success it had on BBC One.
While nobody can ever quite replace Mel and Sue, with their blend of innuendos and cheerful puns, Toksvig is a smart move for the baking show’s new incarnation – fresh from a job hosting QI, the comedian, presenter and no-nonsense wit is just enough of a national treasure to charm viewers. Noel Fielding, on the other hand, will be something of a shock for Bake Off lovers, with his work on The Mighty Boosh and Never Mind the Buzzcocks far less of a natural fit for cosy warmth of the Bake Off tent. Edgy, different and deliberately surprising? It’s the kind of Channel 4 move you’d expect Channel 4 to move.
“The Great British Bake Off will have a uniquely Channel 4 take when it airs this autumn,” said Channel 4 Chief Creative Officer Jay Hunt in a statement. “Sandi and Noel bring a fresh wit and quirkiness to the tent.”
“It is an extraordinary honour to part of this national treasure of a show,” added Toksvig. “Noel Fielding is one of the nicest guys in show business. The first time I met him I felt like I had met a rather wayward cousin whose take on the world made me laugh. The only down side is that he has much better dress sense that I do. I spend my daytimes on Channel 4 already so it will be a treat to be there in the evenings.”
“GBBO is one of my favourite shows,” said Fielding. “I’ve always loved brightly coloured cakes and Sandi Toksvig so this is a dream come true for me! It’s basically the double.”
Joining Paul Hollywood – the only member of the original GBBO team to stay on for the move – is restaurateur, food writer and novelist Prue Leith.
“Paul and Prue have huge amounts of expertise and warmth. I’m looking forward to seeing them putting our great new bunch of amateur bakers through their paces,” said Hunt.
Leith commented: “I am just so thrilled to be joining Paul, Sandi and Noel on the biggest show on TV and I cannot wait to see what the real stars of the show – the bakers – are going to create for us. It is such an honour to be part of The Great British Bake Off team.”
Hollywood added: “I could not be more delighted by who will be joining me on the show. Prue is a hugely respected culinary legend and Sandi and Noel are warm and utterly hilarious. I cannot wait to get back in the tent with the bakers.”
Will you be joining him?
Sue and Mel step down as Bake Off heads to Channel 4
13th September 2016
Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc have confirmed that they will step down as hosts of The Great British Bake Off when it moves to Channel 4.
The pair, who have presented the show since it first aired back in 2010 on BBC Two, have been a major part of the series’ recipe for success, stuffing the programme with innuendo and bad puns to painfully brilliant effect. Their harmless, old-fashioned Britishness was the perfect counterpart for the contrasting flavours of judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.
When news broke that Channel 4 had agreed a three-year deal with Love Productions for Bake Off, which will see the show move from the Beeb to Channel 4 in 2017, speculation began immediately over the future of its hosts, who were not included with the agreement. Now, the pair have confirmed that they will not follow the show to its new home.
A joint statement said: “We were very shocked and saddened to learn yesterday evening that Bake Off will be moving from its home. We made no secret of our desire for the show to remain where it was.”
“We’ve had the most amazing time on Bake Off, and have loved seeing it rise and rise like a pair of yeasted Latvian baps,” they added. “We’re not going with the dough. We wish all the future bakers every success.”
BBC loses Great British Bake Off to Channel 4
The BBC has lost The Great British Bake Off, after being outbid in a new deal between Channel 4 and the show’s producers.
The series, which first began back in 2010 on BBC Two, rose to become one of the UK’s most popular programmes, thanks to its winning recipe of amateur bakers, twinkly-eyed judges (Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry) and mild innuendo (courtesy of presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins). It moved to BBC One lat year, with 15.1 million people tuning for its final, making it 2015’s most-watched show.
Earlier this year, the show won the prize for best Challenge Show at the National Television Awards, beating Masterchef and The Apprentice.
Now, though, Channel 4 has poached the cooking programme from under the Beeb’s nose, following negotiations that had beek taking place with the BBC for a year. A last-ditch meeting yesterday failed to clinch a deal, with The Telegraph’s Patrick Foster reporting that the BBC were told they would need £25 million a year to hold on to the show – four times the current rate. They offered double at £12.5 million, but were turned down.
“Working with Love Productions, we have grown and nurtured the programme over seven series and created the huge hit it is today. We made a very strong offer to keep the show but we are a considerable distance apart on the money,” said the BBC in a statement yesterday afternoon. “The BBC’s resources are not infinite.”
“GBBO is a quintessentially BBC programme,” added the BBC. “We hope Love Productions change their mind so that Bake Off can stay ad free on BBC One.”
In a matter of hours, though, Channel 4 announced that it had already inked a new deal with Love Productions. The broadcaster has signed a three-year agreement, which will begin with a celebrity version of the show in 2017, in air of Stand Up to Cancer.
Jay Hunt, Channel 4’s Chief Creative Officer, said: “Channel 4 is very proud to be the new home for The Great British Bake Off. I’m delighted we have been able to partner with the hugely talented team at Love Productions to keep this much loved show on free-to-air television.”
Others, though, were less than pleased.
Really sad to hear that the BBC has lost rights to Bake Off. Its success is down to format and aesthetic – commercialising will ruin that.
— Flora Shedden (@florashedden) September 12, 2016
Richard McKerrow, Love Productions Creative Director, commented: “We believe we’ve found the perfect new home for Bake Off. It’s a public service, free-to-air broadcaster for whom Love Productions have produced high quality and highly successful programmes for more than a decade.”
McKerrow assured that the broadcaster would “protect and nurture The Great British Bake Off for many years to come”.
The deal is thought to cover up to 40 hours of Bake Off-related programming a year.
No deals have been made yet with the hosts or judges, however, with Mel, Sue, Paul and Mary reportedly told in the afternoon that the show would not be staying at the BBC. However, Mel and Sue are no strangers to Channel 4, having previously presented Light Lunch on the channel back in 1997.
Photo: BBC/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon